


Walk

by fuckthenaysayers



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Broken Bones, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-21
Updated: 2014-02-21
Packaged: 2018-01-13 06:39:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1216336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuckthenaysayers/pseuds/fuckthenaysayers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joel breaks his legs, and has no one to depend on, until he meets Ray, a complete stranger, who helps him on the road to recovery, and they end up falling for each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sometimes life was cruel. Sometimes bad things happened to good people and there was absolutely no reason for it. There was no one to blame, no specific reason why, and nothing to do but make the best of what life dealt you. Of course, that was easier said than done in a lot of situations, including the unfortunate situation of Joel Heyman.

The man was an actor, had his spot in the limelight on a few soap operas here and there, a few back up parts and voice roles on major networks. Nothing big but he was on his way there, slowly but surely getting better parts and roles with each callback. Until fate dealt him a cruel hand in the way of an accident. It was purely a matter of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Joel had been crossing at a crosswalk in NYC, rather late at night. He’d just moved there for a new minor role on a couple sitcoms and had went out late to pick up some things at the convenience store a couple blocks away.

But unfortunately, he never made it home that night. A drunk driver turned suddenly, despite the red light, barrelling straight into Joel. The next thing the man remembered was waking up in the pristine, white hospital room, unable to feel his legs. He could see a nurse hovering over him, talking to him but her voice was slow and slurred. He was clearly on something, and it hard for him to even open his eyes. So he rested, waking up properly a couple hours later. A man was there in a white jacket, looking over a clipboard. He smiled at Joel as the man opened his eyes, looking at him confused.

"W-Where am I?"

"You’re at the hospital, Mr.Heyman. There was an accident."

Joel scrunched his face in confusion, trying to sit up but he couldn’t even feel his legs to prop himself up better. Panic struck suddenly.

"My legs! I-I can’t-"

"It’s alright, they’re still there. You were hit by a drunk driver, the impact broke both of your legs, along with cracking a couple ribs and some bruises here and there. All in all you were lucky to get away with only your legs taking damage really, it could’ve been much worse."

Joel settled down, looking shellshocked as he laid in his hospital bed. His legs were broken? How? When? The last thing he could even remember was leaving the convenience store last night with his bag, full of red bull and junk food, heading home to practice some lines.

"My legs are broken… wait, what about the driver? Are they okay?"

The doctor looked a bit surprised, smiling a little as he checked the sheets on his clipboard.

"Nice of you to care, yes they’re alright, for the most part. Their airbags brunted most of their impact so they came out of this far better than you. Luckily for you, since they’re fully at fault their insurance will take care of everything until you’re back on your feet. Literally. You will have to stay here at the hospital for a few more days but once we’re sure you’re alright except for the obvious injuries you should be able to go home. Unfortunately, broken legs are very serious injuries and the healing process is slow and time consuming. Especially with both of them broken."

The doctor flipped through his pages a bit, just double checking everything before continuing.

"You’ll have to be in a wheelchair for a while, probably a couple months at least considering the breaks. Once you’ve healed enough and your legs are strong enough to support you again we’ll start you on some physiotherapy to strengthen your muscles, move to parallel bars and then crutches. Unfortunately I don’t foresee you walking again for about half a year, at least."

Joel took a deep breath, taking in the doctor’s words with a heavy heart. He’d never so much as broken a bone before this and now he was being told he wouldn’t be able to walk for half a year? It seemed impossible.

"What about my job? My income?"

"Your jobs have been contacted and they understand the situation. You’re going to be put on disability so you’ll still have some money coming in, enough to live off until you can start walking again at least."

"Okay but what about… yanno, living? You’re saying I’m gonna be in a wheelchair for six months, I don’t know how I’ll do… anything."

"The driver’s insurance company will be taking care of that. We’ll assign you a live in caretaker who will help you out on a daily basis, and when the time comes for you to start your therapy they will help you with that too. We’ve got a couple of caretakers who specialize in physiotherapy for cases like yours."

"Oh…"

The idea of living with someone was a bit worrying already. Joel had always been a loner type, few friends and the ones he did have he mainly spoke to outside of his home, rarely inviting people over. But it wasn’t like he was in a position to argue, he’d rather bunk with someone being paid to take care of him rather than a friend or relative he’d have to force himself on.

The doctor spoke with him for a while longer, just making sure Joel was up to date on all that had happened before leaving him to rest. The man had just a few days to himself, on bedrest, before they would discharge him from the hospital. A few people visited him and a few called, his longtime friend Burnie coming by with clothes and Joel’s laptop so he had something to do during his stay.

It was around a week later when he was finally allowed to leave, the nurses helped him get dressed and into a wheelchair, leaving him to settle in his hospital room until the doctor came. Joel wheeled himself around slowly, collecting his things in a bag Burnie had brought them in and keeping it in his lap. He looked at his legs, sealed in their casts, little feeling in them still. The doctor said that feeling would come back slowly, and it’d hurt, so he’d written Joel a few prescriptions for when it started. Joel was almost eager for the pain, at least he’d feel something from them finally.

He was joined by the doctor soon, a young man following after. He was dressed casually but nicely, jeans and a polo on his thin, tan frame, a wide smile on his baby face. Thick glasses covered brown eyes, while thick black hair covered his lower face. He looked nice enough. Joel could already guess why he was there, and his guess was confirmed as the doctor introduced him.

"Joel, this is Ray. Ray is going to be your caretaker and physical therapist for the next few months."

Despite guessing it, Joel was still somewhat surprised. The man looked like he could’ve still been in high school, or at least college. He extended a hand awkwardly.

"Nice to ahh… meet you."

"Likewise."

The younger man took the proffered hand and shook it, smiling kindly. The doctor went over a few more things before finally releasing Joel, Ray wheeling him down and out of the hospital.

"My friend Burnie has a van so he’s picking us up. Do you need to stop anywhere for your… luggage I guess?"

"No, I’ve already set myself up at your apartment, I hope that’s okay. Your landlord was informed of what happened and let me in with his key. I thought it’d be easier for me to move in before you came back home. Sorry."

"That’s alright, it probably is easier."

There was an awkward silence until Burnie arrived, helping Joel into the car and folding up his wheelchair, his stuff put in the back and Ray getting in before they headed off. Burnie got them there quick, helping Joel back into the wheelchair before bidding them goodbye. As Ray wheeled him into the complex Joel was silently praising himself for just so happening to have chosen a wheelchair friendly apartment complex, though only by chance.

Ray got them into the elevator and up to the fifth floor, stopping at Joel’s door. Joel unlocked it and they went inside, the older man taking a deep breath and sighing in relief.

"It’s good to be home. Even like this."

The younger man smiled, letting Joel go so the man could wheel himself where he pleased. He set Joel’s stuff down on the coffee table, watching the other wheel around a bit.

"Welcome home. I took the liberty of cleaning up a bit when I first came, moved some stuff around so you could wheel around more easily. I hope that’s okay? Sorry."

Joel laughed lightly, turning around and smiling at Ray, already feeling much better just from being home.

"You don’t need to keep saying sorry, Ray. I know you’re doing it all to make it easier on me, so you do whatever you feel is right. Thanks a lot."

Ray flushed lightly, he hadn’t expected Joel to be in such a kind mood, the man seemed surly since they first met. He looked much more handsome when he smiled… but he shouldn’t be thinking like that anyways. He smiled back shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You’re welcome… A-Anyway, I bet you’re hungry right? Ready for something other than hospital food I bet. Anything specific?"

"Pizza. Sausage, mushrooms, and pepperoni, from Luci’s Pizza. Menu is in second drawer of my desk. Get whatever you wanna have too, whatever you’d like. Have them put it on my card."

Joel fished his wallet out of his pocket, wheeling over slowly and handing Ray his credit card before wheeling himself into his bedroom. He bumped into furniture and walls on the way, still getting used to wheeling himself, only having a small amount of practice at the hospital before they released him. Ray did as he was told, grabbing the menu and calling up the pizzeria when he decided, ordering two medium pizzas, one of Joel’s choice and one with just extra cheese for himself, putting it on the man’s card.

Ray let Joel have some time to himself, the man doing who knows what in his bedroom, the younger taking the time to get ready, clearing off the coffee table and setting out plates and napkins. It’d be easier for Joel to eat there, since he could reach it easier than the dining table, so they’d just have to have their meals there until he could be moved easier.

When he finished setting up, Ray sat on the couch, flicking on the TV and surfing the channels, settling on a comedy movie. He watched for a while, Joel eventually coming out and joining him, wheeling over and awkwardly trying to position himself until Ray pushed the coffee table farther away so he could get in. The two watched without much talking until there was a knock on the door, Ray answering.

The pizza was delivered, Ray set the boxes on the coffee table and headed to the kitchen.

"What do you want to drink?"

He asked, opening up the fridge and peering inside. Joel hummed in thought for a moment, trying to remember what he had in his fridge before he’d left.

"Just a beer’s fine. You can have one too if you want, I won’t tell."

Ray chuckled, grabbing Joel a beer and himself a soda before walking back over.

"Thanks, but I’m actually 23, so you wouldn’t have to hide it. Either way, I don’t drink."

"Bullshit."

Joel eyed Ray suspiciously as the man sat down on the couch, taking the beer handed to him and twisting the cap off. Ray chuckled lightly, setting down his soda and pulling out his wallet, showing the man his ID. Joel studied it, guess he was telling the truth. He looked it over a bit more before scrunching his brows in confusion.

"You can’t drive?"

Ray flushed, taking it back quickly and shoving it in his pocket, looking away.

"Who needs to drive in New York City?! ….Shut up."

The older of the two laughed quietly until Ray’s frowning shut him up, the two then settling in to eat. As Joel sat and ate, he couldn’t help but peek over at his new ‘roommate’ every now and then, smiling at the sight of the younger man stuffing his face, sometimes laughing over the antics of the actors on screen. Maybe this wouldn’t be half bad.


	2. Chapter 2

This was nothing like back in college. When Joel had first gone back home with Ray as his caretaker, he’d for some reason expected his life to go mostly back to normal, just with a room mate who’d do his cooking and cleaning. It wasn’t like that in the slightest. Joel soon found that, despite trying, there was far little he could truly do on his own anymore. He thought that being released from the hospital meant that he could be okay on his own. But Ray made all his meals, helped him get dressed, well as much as Joel would let him that is, and even helped him bathe.

It was weird, and awkward, and embarrassing. He hated every moment when he needed help, the feeling of not being able to do what he once could destroyed him. But when he didn’t need help, when he felt almost normal again, he found himself blessing whatever sent Ray his way. When he wasn’t being embarrassed in front of the younger man, they actually got along pretty well.

They played video games together, ate together, watched TV together, spending almost every waking moment together. And Joel loved every second that wasn’t humiliating. Ray was funny and charming, he blushed cutely when Joel teased him for being young and not drinking. He laughed at Joel’s stupid jokes, and actually listened with at least feigned interest when Joel tried to teach him about the stock exchange.

He was perfect. Or as close as a 23-year old non-drinker could get to perfect. They had been living together for a couple months now, Joel living essentially on prescriptions and vitamins, Ray a cruel taskmaster when it came to keeping to a specific daily regimen. Prescriptions and vitamins in the morning, either during or after they ate, then some light stretching and a relax period, followed by different stretching that Joel just couldn’t really understand why they did, followed by more food and pills and so on.

As the doctor had said, he had gotten feeling back. It sucked. Pain and soreness filled him constantly, though it was mostly numbed by his painkillers, though he knew those wouldn’t last forever. And with Ray’s coaching and caretaking, he had made huge progress. He had excelled at the parallel bars and the other exercises Ray taught him, helping him regain almost full control of his legs once more. And now, today was the first day of crutches, or so Ray said, and Joel was both excited and terrified.

"Are you sure we aren’t going too fast? I mean what if I fall and break both my arms next? I can’t lose my arms, Ray!"

"You’re such a baby, of course you’re not going to do that! You’ve been doing so well these past few weeks, I know you can do this. And if for any reason you start to fall, I’m right here to catch you."

"Oh, how relieving. Your tiny young ass is gonna catch big ol’ me. Yep. We’re both going down."

Ray snorted, rolling his eyes as he positioned the crutches in front of Joel.

"Just get up already, dumbass."

Joel sighed, knowing he wasn’t getting out of it, and grabbed the crutches. Putting them under his armpits, like Ray had shown him, he slowly, almost achingly slowly, pulled himself up. It was painful, and his body was wobbly, but it was up. Despite his worries, a smile split across his face, pride filling him instantly.

"I’m up! I’m standing on my own!"

"Great job, Joel! I told you you could do it! Now stand still if you could, I’m going to adjust the crutches so your hands can reach the holds better."

Ray kneeled down in front of him, fiddling with the handles on the crutches and lowering them slightly so Joel could grab them with ease. He stood back up, taking a step back.

"Alright, now like I showed you before, move the crutches first, then follow with your body. Let the crutches guide you."

Joel did as he was told, slowly. His face scrunched a bit in pain, but he kept going, slowly following Ray as the younger man led him towards the living room. He was doing amazing for his first go, until he slipped with one crutch, all of him heading down. Joel closed his eyes tight, waiting for the hard impact of himself hitting the floor, only to be met with a much softer one. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring at Ray’s chest, the other somehow keeping him up, smiling widely like Joel hadn’t messed up at all.

"You’ve done so amazing Joel, I’m so proud of you. Let’s get you to the couch."

Joel nodded, slowly getting back up on the crutches with Ray’s help and making the last few steps over, gently flopping onto the couch with a tired sigh.

"I never thought dragging my body around would be such tiring work."

Ray chuckled, smiling at him as he sat down next to him.

"You’ll get used to it."

—

Along with Joel’s body improvements, his relationship with Ray had improved significantly since the start as well. What started out as an awkward caretaker/patient relationship had blossomed to a full out friendship, if not more. It was bound to happen, with them spending so much time together, but it still shocked Joel at how truly happy Ray seemed to be with him. Not a thing about the young man felt fake or forced, it really felt like Ray enjoyed his company just as much as Joel enjoyed his.

Through countless hours of conversation Joel found out that Ray used to work at a gamestop, which fueled his love for gaming. He found out that Ray had no want to drink from working as a busboy at a bar, having seen far too many drunk people to ever really want to join them. He had a ridiculously high gamerscore, and he loved some pony cartoon and anime, and his best friend was a loud guy named Michael. Joel learned the last one unwillingly, when the man’s voice woke him up one day when the other visited Ray. 

And almost most importantly, he found out he liked men. Thanks, coincidentally, to the loud friend who woke him up that day. When he first woke up he had been pretty cranky, fuming silently as he got himself into his wheelchair, wheeling over to his door and about to leave when he heard the loud voice that had woken him up speak again.

"So you bone him yet?"

"Michael! Shut the fuck up, he’s sleeping. You’re so loud."

"That’s not a no."

Joel’s heart leapt in his throat, breathing getting a little hurried and anxious.

"We’re just friends. I don’t think he likes guys like that."

"Aww come on, at least try. Every fucking time you call me it’s ‘Joel this’ and ‘Joel that’, at least do something so it’d make sense for you to talk about him as much as you do."

"I have a crush on him, is that not enough? He’s really handsome, and nice, and he likes video games. How often do you find a guy with all that going for him?"

"Not often. Which is why you should make a move."

"Shut up. Let’s play already, okay?"

Joel wheeled himself back to bed, slowly getting back in and laying down, staring up at his ceiling as he tried to take in what he just learned.

—

Since finding out Ray liked him, Joel had been trying desperately to hint at his own feelings, much to no avail. Ray seemed shockingly oblivious, never seeming to get when Joel casually tried to flirt, or at least acted like he didn’t. Weeks passed from Joel finding out Ray liked him with no further moves made between them, until one night when Ray finally let him have alcohol again.

He was off the pills that didn’t go with them, and Ray let him drink as much as he pleased, the older man slowly getting sloshed as they played Halo together on split-screen.

"Mm, yanno Ray, I find a guy who has more than ten times my gamerscore to be very attractive. Have I told you that?"

Ray laughed quietly, eyes glued to the screen.

"Can’t say you have… You become a really flirty guy when you’re drunk, Joel. Did you know that?"

"Only with you. I really like you. You’re great."

"You’re great too, Joel."

Joel chuckled, shaking his head as a frown stretched across his lips, eyes lazily looking at the screen, his character hardly moving.

"Nah, I’m not. I’m old, and boring, and I suck at video games. No wonder you aren’t responding to my flirting. I guess your crush was just a fleeting thing, cuz you didn’t know me well enough yet."

Ray paused the game, tensing up as he looked at Joel, shocked.

"M-my crush? You knew about that?!"

Joel nodded, looking back at Ray with sad eyes, upset that he seemed to miss his chance.

"I heard your loud friend and you talk about it that one time. And I’ve been trying to get you to notice I like you too, but I’m stupid and I couldn’t come out and say it and now you don’t like me. I’m so dumb, what was I th-"

His words were cut off by lips on his, Ray kissing him frantically, hands clutching Joel’s head to keep him close. The older man shut up instantly, kissing back as best he could, as drunk as he was. One kiss became another, then another, until they had to pull back and catch their breath, both of them smiling contently once they did.

"So… you still like me?"

Joel asked, Ray laughing lightly as he grabbed at his head again.

"Shut up Joel."

And he kissed him once more.


	3. Chapter 3

Since Joel had finally confessed to Ray, there had been a lot of changes in their living situation. The main one being that there was far more kissing then there had ever been before. Not to mention the cuddling, hugs, the fact that with the potential chance to see Ray extra happy Joel was finally starting to leave the house again. They went everywhere they could together, shopping, to the park, out to eat at every wheelchair accessible place in walking distance.

It took another week before they decided on the fact that they were dating, and a week more to make the leap from just kisses and heavy petting to something more. Joel was far too pleased to find out that he could have perfectly good sex just laying there, Ray more than eager to do the work for them both. Their relationship had grown from something far from professional, but neither of them seemed to care any longer.

—

"Joel, lunch is ready!"

Ray called from the kitchen, walking into the living room and setting two plates on the coffee table, a grilled cheese on both with a mug of soup on the side of each. He headed back into the kitchen, grabbing drinks when he heard it. Rather than the soft rolling sound of Joel’s wheelchair, he heard quiet clacking and shuffling. Going back into the living room, he saw Joel slowly making his way to the couch, on his crutches. Ray’s heart swelled, a wide smile slipping onto his face as he set the drinks down.

"Joel! What a surprise to see you up and about!"

The older man chuckled quietly under his breath, taking the last few steps and flopping back onto the couch before replying.

"I had to give it a go. You keep saying I’m doing so well when we exercise, I thought it might be good to get used to them fulltime."

"Well you won’t be fulltime for long like that! You’ve gotten so good with it, I bet we’ll have you off those crutches in no time! Soon enough you won’t need my help at all!"

Ray laughed and grinned with his comment, Joel laughing along, though he got quiet after, falling into thought. Ray didn’t notice, absorbed in the show they watched as they ate, never realizing just how upset Joel was starting to look.

—

Slowly but surely, Ray noticed Joel seeming a bit off. He was more distant than before, more quiet. Despite the eagerness he had once shown to be back on his feet, he now outright refused to use his crutches outside of physical therapy or when using the bathroom. It was like he was regressing, refusing to continue his therapy and regain the ability to stand on his own, but Ray had no clue why.

Whenever he tried to bring it up Joel would just mumble something under his breath and change the subject. Something had to be done.

So Ray did it. One morning, he got up early and took Joel’s wheelchair out of the room, leaving the crutches in its place before starting to make their breakfast. After he finished making their meal of eggs and toast, he called out to the older man, as he did every day he didn’t sleep in.

"Joel! Wake up, time for breakfast!"

There was quiet, for a few minutes, until finally Ray heard a response.

"Where’s my wheelchair?"

Joel called out, sounding a little peeved. Ray sighed, rolling his eyes as he set the table.

"It’s out here! You’re going to have to walk to it if you wanna get in it today, Joel. I’m not pandering to you anymore! Putting off walking this long will be detrimental to your legs!"

A loud sigh was Joel’s response, along with something Ray couldn’t hear. Ray sat down, waiting ten minutes for Joel to join him before eventually eating on his own.

"Raaay! Bring me breakfast!"

The young man ignored the other’s whining, finishing his food and bringing his dishes to the sink.

"You wanna eat? You come get it yourself!"

He yelled back, anger bubbling up inside him as he rinsed his plate. Finally he heard the scuffling of Joel coming into the room, the man grumbling under his breath with every step. Joel slunk into the table chair, quickly shoveling food into his mouth as he glared at Ray.

"Why didn’t you bring me my food?"

He asked, mouth full of egg. Ray made a face, drying his hands and walking over, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at the other man disapprovingly.

"Because you’re not a child, nor an invalid now. You know perfectly well how to use the crutches and could get up whenever you wanted. As you’ve obviously proven."

Joel sighed, swallowing and downing half the cup of coffee Ray made him before pulling back a bit, frowning at Ray.

"Why did you take my wheelchair?"

"Because! You should be using your crutches full time now but you’ve barely used them at all! Your legs aren’t going to finish healing if you keep like this!"

"Well maybe I don’t want them to!"

Ray froze, shock taking him over as he stared at Joel, who looked immediately regretful for what he’d said.

"What did you just say?"

No response.

"Joel."

Nothing.

"JOEL!"

"I said I don’t wanna heal! I mean, I-I do, but…"

"But what, Joel?"

"When I can walk again, I’ll have no need for your help anymore. A-And you’ll leave, and move in with some other patient who needs you and I can’t handle that I love you too much to lose you so quickly. So I don’t want to get better. I’d rather wheel myself around all day with you by my side over walking around all alone."

Ray was quiet, staring at Joel for a long time as he tried to make sense of the man’s words, Joel having been rather stuttery and flustered when he spoke them. After a few minutes, Ray leaned in and kissed Joel tenderly, before hugging him tight.

"Joel, you massive fucking idiot. Just because I won’t be your physical therapist anymore, doesn’t mean I’m gonna be out of your life forever. We’re dating! Pretty much living together completely! I’d never leave you."

"Really?"

The older man was turning red, embarrassment flooding over him as he realized how ridiculous he was being. He hugged Ray back, clutching him tight as he hid his face in the other’s neck.

"Of course, Joel. I love you too, you know."

—

"Ray? Where are my crutches?"

Joel stared at his bedside drawer, confused at the lack of crutches leaning against them. He could smell breakfast cooking, Ray certainly in the kitchen, having left Joel to sleep in as he always did.

"Sorry, what was that Joel?"

The younger man’s voice called out to him and he sighed, repeating himself.

"Where are my crutches?"

"Please tell me you’re joking."

"What?"

Ray walked into the room, giving Joel an amused look as he leaned over and kissed him good morning.

"Joel, you haven’t needed crutches for the past month, dummy. Come on, breakfast is ready."

He turned and walked back out, leaving Joel to watch him in confusion. Suddenly he recalled, of course Ray was right. He’d finally graduated from his crutches a month ago and was walking on his own, though he used a cane when they went a long ways, just to be safe. The habitual reminder still nagged at him though, making him confused when he woke up and saw no crutches waiting for him.

Slowly, he got out of bed, standing up and stretching before walking into the kitchen. Coming up behind Ray, he encircled the younger man in his arms, kissing at his neck lovingly.

"Hey Mister Crutches. Good job forgetting yet again, I swear that’s the third time this week."

“‘S not my fault. Habits are hard to break.”

Ray laughed quietly, turning in Joel’s arms to face him, looking up at the taller man’s face.

"I know. You’ll get over it soon, I bet."

"Mm."

Joel leaned down, kissing Ray gently, the other returning it. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Ray trying to pull away slowly.

"We need… to… eat."

His words were interspersed with kisses, Joel eventually letting go and letting them both sit at the table, his mouth watering at the sight of a delicious-looking omelette waiting for him. As they ate, Joel started to think on just how different his life was from mere months ago. The memory of the accident was just that now, a distant memory that seemed so long ago. He could remember cursing his fate then, cursing what happened to him. But now, because of it he had so much more than he could’ve dreamt of.

Sometimes life was cruel. Yet sometimes it was very, very kind.


End file.
